With this post, I am tackling two different things: the influence of money on infatuation and the issue of status and its influence on how Fanny is being treated. This is a really rough page of different thoughts being thrown together into one entry.
Infatuation and money seem to go hand in hand in my mind when I think about Mansfield Park, especially the influence that money has on the lives of the characters and the choices they make. In the beginning of the novel we are immediately thrown into the lives of a few of the characters and learn that the marriage of one sister can benefit the lives of others. However, when a sister doesn’t marry for the sake of gaining status, she seems to be the odd one out, “But Miss Frances married, in the common phrase, to disoblige her family, and by fixing on a Lieutenant of Marines, without education, fortune, or connections, did it very thoroughly” (35). There is an emphasis on the disruption or failing to make the family happy based on choosing someone you care for or love. Miss Crawfod also mentions marriage but states that it needs to be done properly and should not throw themselves away; however, “everybody should marry as soon as they can do it to advantage” (71). Again, it is imperative that men and women marry as long as they are benefiting from the relationship.
Fanny was thrown into the world of Mansfield and it was expressed early on the differences between her status and that of her family. Mrs. Norris, who seems to have quite a bit to say in regards to how other people live their lives, states “I hope she will prove a well-disposed girl, and be sensible of her uncommon good fortune in having such friends” (41). Based on her opinion, Fanny should be so lucky to live with people who have a higher status in society. Along these same lines, Sir Thomas also mentions the importance of preserving the minds of his daughters and the consciousness of who they are, “without making them think too lowly of their cousin; and how, without depressing her spirits too far, to make her remember that she is not a Miss Bertram” (42). It becomes essential that the lives of others cannot be disrupted by bringing Fanny into the home and that in some way she may taint their “good natured” lives, especially where the “rank, fortune, rights, and expectations” of the girls are concerned (42).
Infatuation and money seem to go hand in hand in my mind when I think about Mansfield Park, especially the influence that money has on the lives of the characters and the choices they make. In the beginning of the novel we are immediately thrown into the lives of a few of the characters and learn that the marriage of one sister can benefit the lives of others. However, when a sister doesn’t marry for the sake of gaining status, she seems to be the odd one out, “But Miss Frances married, in the common phrase, to disoblige her family, and by fixing on a Lieutenant of Marines, without education, fortune, or connections, did it very thoroughly” (35). There is an emphasis on the disruption or failing to make the family happy based on choosing someone you care for or love. Miss Crawfod also mentions marriage but states that it needs to be done properly and should not throw themselves away; however, “everybody should marry as soon as they can do it to advantage” (71). Again, it is imperative that men and women marry as long as they are benefiting from the relationship.
Fanny was thrown into the world of Mansfield and it was expressed early on the differences between her status and that of her family. Mrs. Norris, who seems to have quite a bit to say in regards to how other people live their lives, states “I hope she will prove a well-disposed girl, and be sensible of her uncommon good fortune in having such friends” (41). Based on her opinion, Fanny should be so lucky to live with people who have a higher status in society. Along these same lines, Sir Thomas also mentions the importance of preserving the minds of his daughters and the consciousness of who they are, “without making them think too lowly of their cousin; and how, without depressing her spirits too far, to make her remember that she is not a Miss Bertram” (42). It becomes essential that the lives of others cannot be disrupted by bringing Fanny into the home and that in some way she may taint their “good natured” lives, especially where the “rank, fortune, rights, and expectations” of the girls are concerned (42).